Last summer the NY Times ran an article with the same title as this blog post. The article talked about couples who were married, but slept in separate bedrooms. Peculiar, right? Wrong. Apparently it's a fairly common practice and, according to a 2005 sleep survey, one in four couples sleep in separate bedrooms.
I can say that in our 2.5 years of marriage, Ben and I haven't been part of the sleeping alone trend.... until a week and a half ago. I woke up two Tuesday mornings ago only to discover Ben had hardly slept due to a nasty sore throat. He called in sick to work, and I suggested he go to our guest bedroom to try to get a couple hours of sleep. Our master bedroom is yang - high ceilings, big windows, plenty of street noise. Our guest bedroom is yin - dark, quiet, cozy + bambo tree, humidifier. It's our healing room.
The healing room worked, and Ben was able to sleep three additional hours that day. His nasty sore throat persisted and we decided it was best that Ben quarantine himself for the next few nights. I was scheduled to have Lasik* on Thursday and wanted to be in peak health. Fast forward to Thursday morning... we washed the guest bedroom sheets, Ben moved back to the master bedroom, and I moved to the guest room where my eyes could heal in peace. We continued to sleep in our separate rooms through the weekend.
(This is the sleeping mask I've worn for the past week to make sure I don't rub/scratch my eyes during the night. Thank goodness for Dr. Dre and his beatz that kept me company in the dark.)Ben and I finally became roommates again on Monday night after almost a week apart. It was a fun three days while it lasted. Unfortunately, Ben started getting yet another sore throat today (his fourth in a little over a month - unheard of!), so we're back to the ol' arrangement at least for tonight. Married, but sleeping alone.
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*This should a post on its own, not just an asterisk... but Lasik is amazing! The actual procedure took a mere five minutes and I could see 20/20 the next morning. The first 24 hours were uncomfortable, but I slept most of the time, so it wasn't too bad. It's been exactly one week and I'm pretty much back to normal, except I can see better and don't have the hassle of contacts. I love it!
3 comments:
Someday you'll see the light on the separate rooms permanently. It's the wave of the future! And this post joined the elite club of blog posts I email to Neal...well done, you. Our life is literally insane right now, but I plan to call you as soon as I possible can!
Oh, that's so sad that Ben has been sick so much....but so awesome that you got lasik!! That is definitely on our list of things to invest in. I figure after what you pay in doctor's appointments and contacts over the years you basically pay for lasik anyway. Plus I don't want the excuse anymore that Tom can't see the pacifier in the middle of the night so he might as well stay asleep. ;) Hope you guys get back to sleeping in the same room again soon!!
Congrats on the Lasik! Ben's testimonial helped me in my decision making to get it done. Truly it is amazing. Hopefully no more sore throats for Ben...
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